"Alertors" installed on high voltage wire in Xinjiang to protect migrant birds

2019-05-05 12:02

URUMQI, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Warning lights and anti-bird instruments have been installed on and near a 4-km-long section of a high voltage wire in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to warn migrant birds of the danger.

Bird lovers posted online on Sunday that multiple grey cranes were killed or injured after hitting the 220-kV high voltage wire in the southern suburb of Urumqi from April 13 to 28.

The city's electric power company conducted a field investigation and found about 300 grey cranes resting in a nearby wetland for a stopover and foraging every dawn and dusk in newly-cultivated farmland about 200 meters north of the wire.

After consulting with the local environment and wildlife protection departments, the power company installed the anti-bird facilities on Monday and Tuesday.

The wire is an important power source for the high-speed train connecting Xinjiang and Lanzhou, capital of neighboring Gansu Province. The project passed environment impact assessment in 2011, and had not caused any casualties of migrant birds by early April this year.

Expert said the recent casualties could be due to the newly-cultivated farms and water sources that changed the original resting and foraging spots of migrant birds.